Be Careful What You Wish For
by XiaoFeng
Summary: A heated fight. Harsh words uttered. A chance meeting with a mysterious stranger. And Yuki awakes to find the world is very different. Can he get Shuichi back? My twist on the old "Shuichi leaves Yuki" plotline. Yuki's POV.
1. The Fight

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. So there. :P**

**A/N: My first Gravitation fic... This is written almost entirely from my memory of Gravitation which I watched two or three years ago, so if there are any inconsistencies, please forgive.**

Yuki was yelling at him again. It seemed like all that their relationship consisted of lately.

Shuichi honestly didn't quite know what he did wrong this time. It seemed to have been some combination of the television's bright blinking light and his own hysterical laughter while Yuki was trying to work, as well as the fact that Yuki had run out of cigarettes again. Normally, he would've sent Shuichi to buy some more, but Shuichi had been trying to get him to break the nasty habit, so he'd returned with some nicotine patches and gum instead.

Needless to say, Yuki was not happy.

Shuichi felt almost numb to it by now. The yelling, the sneering, the insults – everything. How many times had Yuki told him that he was an annoyance? That he was useless and couldn't do anything right? That he should just leave him alone?

That was what Yuki was saying right now.

"Just fucking get the hell out of my sight! I don't know why I even keep you around! Just stop bothering me and _disappear_ already!"

Normally, Shuichi would've reacted to this with loud wails and tears. Normally, he would've gone tearing out the door and straight to Hiro's. Normally, Shuichi would stay there until Yuki had calmed down enough for him to come home.

But Shuichi didn't feel so normal anymore. This had happened so many times that he was practically used to it. Somewhere inside, he knew something was crying and breaking, but the rest of him felt so numb.

He'd been wondering for some time now that if Yuki hated him so much, shouldn't he just leave? Yuki was always telling him to, anyway. Why did he stay around? Well, if Shuichi was to be honest, it was for those rare tender moments when Yuki would show his soft side to his lover, but if he really was causing so much trouble for Yuki, why shouldn't he leave? Shuichi loved Yuki more than anything, and he wanted the blonde man to be happy. If he was happier without the pink-haired singer, than Shuichi thought he would be able to leave, no matter how much it really killed him inside.

So when Yuki yelled at him to disappear, Shuichi didn't react like he normally did. Instead, he looked up at Yuki with teary violet eyes that refused to overflow and spoke in a voice that even surprised Shuichi himself with its calmness.

"Is that what you really want?"

Yuki was momentarily thrown off by the show of near-indifference, but the irritation soon fueled him again. He needed his cigarettes, damn it! Not some damn gum or fucking nicotine patch!

"Yes! I wish I'd never met you, you overbearing pink eyesore!"

Still calmly, though there was a portion of him that felt well and truly shattered, Shuichi nodded.

"I understand. I'll leave you alone now, Yuki-san. Sayonara."

The 'Yuki-san' was what really did it. Never had Shuichi been so formal with Yuki before, and he just stood there, stunned and trying to understand what had just happened. Obviously, something had gone very, very wrong somewhere, but he couldn't quite fathom what it was. How was this any different from any of their other fights?

By the time Yuki got his senses back, Shuichi was already gone, having rather calmly walked out of the door as soon as he finished his sentence. Yuki tried to calm himself. Shuichi had to know that he never meant any of those things he said. How many times had he said them by now? Shuichi would be back, just like he always would be when Yuki was calm again, and they would have some rather fantastic make-up sex in which Yuki would tell Shuichi with his actions just how much he really loved the pink-haired idiot.

* * *

Shuichi wandered aimlessly around on the streets for what seemed like forever. He had no idea where to go or what to do. He didn't want to go to Hiro, but he didn't truly have anywhere else _to_ go. He hadn't taken anything with him when he'd left the apartment. He'd really just turned on his heel and walked out the door.

So what was he to do now?

Shuichi knew what he wanted. He wanted to stop feeling so damned cold and numb. He wanted to be able to cry and whine and wail, because, childish as it was, it was _normal_ – at least for him. But his eyes felt so dry, as if he had long since cried himself out, and he felt so tired, his emotions spent. And that was a bad sign.

"Ara, what's this? A little lost kitten roaming the streets at this time of night?" a mocking voice came out of the darkness. Shuichi jumped, startled and defensive all at once. You never knew if the person calling you was some kind of crazy stalker-slash-murderer after all.

His worst fears were confirmed when a group of thuggish-looking guys approached him, leering at him.

_Crap._ Shuichi thought, with a tingle of fear starting to run up his back. Memories of his rape with Aizawa were starting to return.

"Hey, how about you keep us company tonight?" One of the men asked with a highly suggestive look as his eyes raked Shuichi's slender body.

"I don't think so," Shuichi said, trying to imitate Yuki's coldness and brush them off. Of course, with his looks, it didn't quite work.

"Aw, come on, kid, don't be so cold." A thick, meaty hand was laid on his shoulder.

"I said, leave me alone," Shuichi growled, swatting away the hand.

"After all the trouble we went through to nicely invite you? I don't think so." Without warning, he was grabbed by at least three different hands and dragged into a side alley. A gag was pulled around his mouth and no matter how he struggled, he couldn't seem to get free.

Fear raced through his veins. This couldn't be happening again. It couldn't! Not again!

He could feel his clothes getting torn off and he continue to struggle, refusing to submit. But it was no use. There were too many of them, and they were much bigger than he was, and much stronger too. Tears started to leak out of his eyes as he desperately called for help in his head.

_Yuki, save me!_

But Yuki wasn't coming. Yuki didn't care about him. Why would Yuki come for him? He was just a useless, no-good, immature annoyance…

Splash!

The chilling liquid came out of nowhere, drenching them all quite thoroughly and very effectively tearing their attentions away from Shuichi. He turned his head enough to see a tall and lean silhouette at the entrance of the alleyway, holding an empty bottle of diet soda that was no longer spurting like crazy. On the ground were two more bottles in a bag.

"What the heck are you waiting for? Run!" Shuichi's savior yelled at him.

Blindly, Shuichi obeyed, running towards the figure. The thugs cursed, trying to grab him again, but Shuichi saw the figure grab another bottle of soda, shake it hard and then pry the cap off, and the resulting spray was confused them long enough for the figure to grab Shuichi by the hand and take off running.

Shuichi, who was being dragged along, stared in shock at his savior. As he'd noticed earlier, his savior was tall – well, taller than him, anyway, but that was almost everyone too – and lean. His savior wore a simple white t-shirt and a long pair of jeans and had wild dark hair that was becoming even messier due to the running.

Abruptly, they turned a corner and hid in another small alleyway while the thugs ran past. His savior looked around the corner to make sure they were gone and then turned back to grin at Shuichi.

Shuichi stared at his savior, a plain-looking woman with short dark hair and equally dark eyes. There was really nothing special about her appearance. She wasn't hideous or anything, but she wasn't attractive in any way either. Well, except for her eyes, perhaps. Her large, dark eyes danced with merriment and mischief, and seemed to know more than they were telling.

But other than her eyes, in all honesty, Shuichi wouldn't have known she was a woman but for the small swells that were her breasts. She was so androgynous that she could've dressed as either gender and no one would've been the wiser.

"Well, that was dangerous. You're pretty lucky, kid."

_Lucky_, the word echoed around in his head. How was his night in any way _lucky_? Yuki didn't want him anymore – wanted him to disappear – and he'd almost gotten gang-raped. How was that _lucky_?

As if that word had released something inside of him, Shuichi started crying. It wasn't his usual whining and wailing but true, fearful tears of someone who had just been through something traumatic.

To his surprise, he felt the woman lean down to hug him, and he started crying even harder, leaning into whatever comfort he could get. This was what he wished Yuki would give him – but Yuki hated him now…and that made him cry some more.

It took a while for him to realize that the woman was murmuring comforting words into his ear, trying to soothe him.

"There, there… Shh… Just get it all out…"

Before he realized it, Shuichi was venting and berating everything bad that ever happened in his life, most notably his meeting with Yuki and how he just couldn't seem to stop loving the heartless bastard, no matter what Yuki did to him. He cried and cried until his tears finally started to subside and his voice was hoarse.

Shuichi suddenly felt ridiculous for crying on a random stranger and tried to wipe his tears away. The woman chuckled and gave him a handkerchief to dry his eyes on.

"Are you feeling better now?" she asked.

"Yes. Thank you." Shuichi was still sobbing slightly.

"My name is Kaze. Yumeisha Kaze. Yoroshiku, ne?" She winked at him.

"I'm Shindou Shuichi."

Shuichi waited for the expected response to finding out he was the lead singer of the top band Bad Luck, but there was none. Instead, the woman just nodded at his name and then looked around.

"Would you like to go for a cup of coffee? I've found that's the best way to calm down after an episode like that, and I'm interested in this Yuki person you were screaming at. What did he do to you, exactly?"

Shuichi hesitated. "You're not from the paparazzi or anything like that, are you?"

Kaze scratched her head. "I suppose I'm a freelance reporter of sorts, but I'm not really paparazzi. Why does that matter, though?"

"You don't recognize me? I'm the lead singer for the band, Bad Luck."

Kaze snapped her fingers. "So _that's_ where I've seen you before. I thought you were just some punk kid cosplaying his favorite idol or something."

"What kind of writer doesn't keep in touch with the latest news?" Shuichi asked, bewildered. Granted, Yuki hadn't really kept up with current entertainment news either but… Somehow, Shuichi had always thought he was an exception.

She laughed. "Sorry. Music isn't really my strong point. I listen more than I watch, and that's only because I need noise while I work, so most of the time, my attention isn't on the music either. Besides, I work for a travel magazine, so I don't deal with musical issues much either."

"You sure work differently from someone I know," Shuichi muttered, thinking of how he was yelled at for making noise while Yuki worked.

"So, will you tell me? I promise I won't sell the story or anything like that. I just want to help, and even if I can't, it might make you feel better."

The pink-haired vocalist eyed her. He did feel the need to talk to someone for a bit. He just hadn't gone to Hiro because he knew this time, it was different somehow and he didn't want to talk to his best friend who would undoubtedly listen sympathetically and then condemn Yuki heartlessly, as was a best friend's duty.

Maybe that's why people went to psychiatrists, to get a non-biased outsider's view on the situation, and quite suddenly, Shuichi wanted to know what an outsider would tell him to do. Because people like Hiro who would always be on his side would tell him to leave the heartless bastard, while people like Tohma who cared so much for Yuki would encourage him to give the writer another chance.

But…should he really tell everything to some random stranger he met on the street?

Still, Kaze seemed sincere enough, and she had promised. Shuichi made up his mind. They went to a nearby diner where he spilled everything to her, starting from how he'd fallen in love at first sight with Yuki, up until tonight when he'd left.

Kaze was a fantastic listener. She just sat there, listening intently with no judgment on her face. There was nothing that indicated she was being patronizing or pitying him. Really, the only movement on her face was a small, enigmatic smile that kind of reminded Shuichi of the childlike Ryuichi when he was at that point of his personality that hovered between child and man.

"The thing is, I'm sure Yuki loves me. He's never actually _said_ it, but he has implied it many times, and really, this was no different from any of our normal fights, but I don't know, I just couldn't help feeling he actually meant it this time. He actually wished we'd never met!" Shuichi's eyes were starting to water again.

Kaze tilted her head and finally spoke. "I'm sure he loves you, too. But it seems to me that he's taken you for granted just a little. It might be time for a bit of a wake-up call for him."

"What?" Shuichi stared at her incredulously. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, you should give him a reason _not_ to take you for granted. From what I hear, you've always been there, declaring your love for him and everything. Anyone is bound to take something like that for granted. You have to show him what he has to lose before he'll realize what he's doing to you."

Violet eyes widened like round saucers. "You can't mean – I can't _leave_ Yuki!"

Kaze raised an eyebrow at him. "Weren't you kind of already doing that when you walked out of the house?"

He fidgeted. "Only because he told me to. Yuki wanted me to leave him alone, so that's what I was doing. I couldn't leave Yuki on my own."

Kaze sighed heavily. "The perils of blind, hopeless and ever-foolish love." She smiled slightly, however. "I just can't leave you fools in love for some reason. I'll help you."

"Really?" The singer seemed to light up from the inside again. "How are you going to do that?"

The dark-haired woman sat back in her seat, sipping her hot chocolate, looking very thoughtful. Eventually, a slow smirk crept across her face, and a mischievous, even slightly evil, gleam entered her dark eyes. Shuichi didn't like that expression. She looked like some cross between Tohma's business smile whenever the blonde was plotting something and Ryuichi's mischievous grin.

"Don't worry, Shuichi," she practically purred. "I know _exactly_ what to do. Just trust me. Yuki said he wanted you to disappear, did he? Well, then, let's grant him that wish…" Shuichi _really_ didn't like the expression on her face. She looked to be enjoying herself far too much…

* * *

They were back in the apartment a while later at Kaze's insistence. Shuichi wasn't quite sure what they were doing there. Kaze hadn't once stopped smiling that creepy grin since she thought of whatever plan she had to make Yuki stop taking his pink-haired lover for granted.

"Um…Kaze-san…just what are you planning?" he asked tentatively.

"You'll see. Just trust me. Now," she patted him on the head as if he were a little boy, "go on and start packing all your things. Everything. Make it look like you were never here. I'll take care of the rest."

"But I already said I wasn't going to leave Yuki on my own," Shuichi protested.

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

Shuichi hesitated. He didn't understand what was going on but he felt as if he could trust Kaze, so he nodded eventually and started gathering up his stack of CDs and records. Kaze watched him for a moment before going into the bedroom where Yuki was sleeping.

She smiled in a most predatory fashion at Yuki's sleeping form and bent over to whisper in his ear. "I'm going to steal Shuichi from you, Yuki Eiri-san. You wanted him to disappear, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. It's going to be as if he never existed. You'll be happy, won't you? That's what you wanted, isn't it? Na, Yu-ki-san~?"

Yuki's eyebrows furrowed and he groaned lightly, but he didn't wake.

**Dun dun dun... What's going to happen to Shuichi and Yuki now? Well, that's for me to know and you to find out.**


	2. The Forgotten

**Disclaimer: If I owned this, would I be writing FANfiction? Obviously, I don't own it.**

**A/N: This fic is based almost entirely on my memory of the show which I watched about three years ago, so please forgive any inconsistencies or ooc. On another note, thanks to all my reviewers!**

Yuki woke up feeling somewhat colder than usual. The apartment too, was very quiet, so much so that it was nearly unnatural. His bed seemed larger and colder than usual but his sleep-fogged mind waved it off. He probably needed to get laid again. It was the downside of his reclusive life. Every so often, he felt the need for some human contact, even if it was meaningless human contact.

He stumbled to the bathroom, making a subconscious note to visit the nearby pub tonight. It wouldn't take long to find a willing partner. Yuki knew he was a handsome man. The question wouldn't be whether he'd have a partner tonight, but rather, which woman he should pick.

With that in mind, Yuki started to go through his normal morning routine. He showered, brushed his teeth, shaved and then went to make breakfast. Yet, as he stood in the doorway of his bedroom and stared out at his apartment, he couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised.

Had this place always been this wide and empty?

He shook it off. The house was no different from what it usually was. He was being overly sensitive. Yuki snorted to himself at the thought. No one would ever think he was sensitive at all, especially not –

Wait, who was he thinking about again? Oh, well, it probably didn't really matter. His stomach's call for nourishment was much more important. His answering machine was flashing, indicating that he had a couple of messages. He pressed it as he went into the kitchen.

Yuki started making breakfast as he listened to the messages on his answering machine. The first one was from his editor, reminding him that he only had a week or so left to his deadline. Damn. Had time passed all that quickly already?

The second message was from Tohma. "Eiri-san, how have you been? Mika-san is starting to complain you don't keep in touch anymore. Is everything all right? How about coming over for dinner one of these days? Show the rest of us that you're still alive."

Yuki snorted to himself as the message ended. Join them for dinner. Yeah, when hell froze over, perhaps. Tohma would be nothing but suffocating, and Mika would be nagging at him for not keeping in touch. _Not_ his idea of a peaceful dinner.

Looking down, the novelist realized he'd somehow subconsciously made enough for two. When had _that_ happened? Yuki never cooked for anyone but himself, not even for his one-night lovers. He must've made a mistake somewhere, or he was too distracted. Yeah, that was right. This apartment was just too big, damn it. Too quiet, too.

Huh, he never really thought of it that way before. Usually, Yuki loved the quiet solitude of his apartment.

Damn, he really needed to get laid.

A couple of minutes later found Yuki at his desk as per usual, typing away. The leftovers from the morning's breakfast had been stored in the fridge, and Yuki had no plan to move from his current seat anytime within the next five hours or so, unless it was for a bathroom break. With a satisfied expression on his face, he reached for his usual pack of cigarettes – but found only a pack of gum and nicotine patches instead.

What the - ? When had those gotten there? Where were his cigarettes?

Vaguely, the novelist remembered someone telling him that cigarettes weren't good for him, and that the gum and patches would help to break the nasty habit. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember who it had been.

Meh, must've been Tohma. It was the kind of thing his brother-in-law would do.

It didn't occur to Yuki that Tohma had never said a word against his bad habit before, nor had the older man been to his apartment within the last couple of months.

Seeing as there were no cigarettes, and Yuki did _not_ want to leave his house to go buy more, the blonde had no choice. With a heavy sigh, he stuck a patch on his arm and popped a piece of gum.

An hour later, he concluded that it just wasn't the same. Still, he supposed he could get used to it. Especially since he wasn't about to get up from his desk.

Two hours later, he was getting restless. Not because of the lack of a cigarette, but because it was too damned quiet.

This was ridiculous. He'd never complained about the silence before.

Still, to ease the oppressive stillness, he reached for the remote (conveniently located on his desk just the way he liked it) and turned on the TV. The sound of some overly cheerful pop music band came on and he turned it off almost at once. He wanted sound, yes, but not like _that_. Whatever happened to real, regular music like rock?

Come to think of it, _when_ had he ever been interested in music, particularly rock?

Must've been Tohma's influence again – damned music producer just _had_ to be a former member of Japan's biggest rock band ever.

With a disgruntled expression, Yuki tried to ignore the silence and get back to typing again. When it finally reached time for him to stop for the day, Yuki stared at the miserable progress he'd made that day. Barely a paragraph and it was a lousy one to boot.

Damn it, he just had no inspiration today! And this thrice-damned silence was getting on his nerves!

"I really need to get laid," Yuki muttered to himself, speaking his first words of the day in a voice that was almost raspy from disuse. He normally didn't buy into talking to himself. It was just one step away from schizophrenia or something like that, in his opinion. But by now, he'd do almost _anything_ to keep the silence away.

Heh, maybe he really _was_ becoming schizophrenic. Wouldn't that be something?

Since it was obvious he wasn't going to get anywhere with his book anytime soon, Yuki decided it would probably be for the best to hit the pub early. Nothing like a couple of beers and beautiful girls to flirt with to put all that crap-romance back in his head.

* * *

So here he was, in the pub.

The loud music beating so loud that he could feel it becoming his pulse, the press of bodies as they danced and mingled, and the sweat and heat that came off them…

Finally, Yuki felt like he was in familiar territory again. He didn't know why but his home hadn't felt at all like – well, home. But here, here he felt comfortable again. Even if it felt like he hadn't been here in a long time.

That couldn't be right. He did come out here every now and then. He probably just missed the nightlife, what with his deadline coming up and everything.

Yuki settled on a barstool, ordered some alcoholic drink and then proceeded to soak in the atmosphere. It'd really been too long since he'd last been in human company. It felt…nice, somehow. At the very least, it was as far away from that damned silence as was possible.

Before he realized it, he was knocking back drink after drink. The pulsing beat of the music made him feel strangely at home, and his eyes wandered over the people on the dance floor, looking for a likely mark. There were perhaps countless gorgeous women dancing and grinding, getting hot and sweaty; even a couple of handsome-looking men looked like possible bed companions for the night.

None of them really caught his eye though. Yuki felt as if he was looking for something. Something_ specific_, but he had absolutely no idea what it was. A bright yellow and orange jacket made his head turn quickly, yet the kid who was wearing it didn't even come _close_ to what Yuki had been expecting.

…What _had_ he been expecting?

Never mind. In any case, the kid was in no way attractive to Yuki. Sure, he _looked_ good, in that fresh, semi-innocent kind of way, but everything about him seemed wrong. Wrong face, wrong body, wrong eyes, wrong hair… He'd probably be better off dying it pink or something.

…Why pink? It was an atrocious color, and it'd clash horribly with the jacket. What the hell was he thinking?

Yuki concluded that he must be starting to get a little drunk if his thoughts were wandering off in such a random manner. I mean, really, _pink?_

His golden eyes met the gaze of a beautiful woman who had just come off the dance floor. Again, something was not quite right, but she was perfect in every way otherwise. Yuki supposed that she would do. She already seemed like the best this bar had to offer. It was evident in the number of eyes that followed her as she walked sultrily over to him.

"Hey, handsome," she said in a smoky velvet purr. "Buy me a drink?"

With a smirk, he nodded to her and then to the bartender, "Get the lady whatever she wants on me."

Some time later, they were both grinding drunkenly against the other in some dark corner of the bar. He was hot and so very aroused, yet there was a nagging in the back of his head that this was wrong, that he shouldn't be doing this. It got more insistent the more he touched her until he could no longer shut it out.

Breaking away from their heated kiss, Yuki pushed himself away from her, trying to shake the liquor from his system and out of his head, as well as that annoying feeling of utter _wrongness_. The woman, whose name he hadn't even bothered remembering, looked at him with dazed and confused eyes.

"What's the matter?" she whispered as she pressed herself up against him once more.

He took another step back. What the hell was wrong with him? He had a beautiful, willing woman right within reach and he was _rejecting_ her? Yuki had never turned anyone down like that before. Yet he just couldn't get over the feeling that this was wrong. This was not the person he was supposed to be with – when had that ever mattered to him before?

"I'm sorry," he said shortly to her. "I'm just – not in the mood, after all."

The woman blinked. She couldn't have gotten rejected like that before, but she took it surprisingly well. Better than any of the other whiny chicks Yuki had picked up from time to time. She shrugged and straightened herself up.

"That's a real pity," she said as she blew him one last kiss. "I think this could've been a wonderful night. Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me." She started to walk away but then she stopped to look back at him with a sly smirk.

"That is, whenever you break up with your lover for good, that is."

And then she was gone, but Yuki was left a little confused. Lover? He had no lover. He never had any lovers, unless you could count his endless string of one-nighters that. What had she been implying? That he wasn't in the mood because he didn't really feel like cheating on this so-called nonexistent lover after all? That was stupid. There was no one of the sort.

Was there?

Vague impressions kept coming to him, too fleeting for him to grasp. Yuki shook them away. He'd _remember_ if he ever took a lover, wouldn't he? The alcohol was messing with his mind again. He needed to take a walk to clear his head.

The novelist left the pub and walked home, taking the long route in order to clear his head properly. This was not working out the way he planned at all. He was supposed to be in his home right now, with that gorgeous babe, and fucking the brains out of her. So _why_ didn't he?

Yuki honestly had no answers to that, and it annoyed him even more.

Looking around, the blonde found that his feet had somehow brought him to the park. He didn't think much of it. It was more or less on the way home, and he could probably pick up a couple of packs of cigarettes at the same time. The gum and nicotine patches were all right, but Yuki missed his cigarettes. Besides, there was no way he was breaking a habit just because _Tohma_ suggested it.

As he walked down the dark, shadowed path, Yuki was overcome with a sense of nostalgia. It felt as if something important had happened around here, but he couldn't remember what it was. The wind picked up, and he couldn't help looking back the way the wind was blowing from, as if he were expecting something to come flying on the stiff breeze, or someone to be there.

But there wasn't anyone, and Yuki wondered why he felt disappointment welling in his gut.

Light laughter came ringing out of the darkness, and Yuki saw a couple in the distance, coming up the path towards him. Well, they seemed like a couple, at any rate. The girl had hooked elbows with a guy with long red hair, looking very intimate as they laughed at something.

Yuki stared at the redheaded man. Something about him was _very_ familiar. Had he seen him somewhere before, perhaps?

"_Hiro_," the girl was whining in yet another tantalizing familiar way, "won't you _please_ do it? For me?"

The man chuckled. "No can do, Maiko. I'm behind enough in my studies as it is. You know I've just started medical school, don't you? I have no idea what I've been doing, goofing off all this time, when I could have been studying hard for my future."

"But _Hiro_," the girl – Maiko? Why were these names so familiar, damn it?! – "you're an amazing guitarist! Just wait for me to graduate, and we can be a band together, just like we were in school."

"Yes, but that was school. This is the real world, and we can't survive on music alone."

Maiko sighed and slumped her shoulders. "I suppose you're right. But just this one last performance. Please?"

Hiro smiled. "I suppose I can do that."

"Really?" Maiko's face lit up. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She was excited enough to start jumping and kissing her boyfriend all over his face.

Yuki watched the scene with a little amusement and a load of déjà vu. This was happening too much today. He'd never seen either of this people in his life, yet the actions of that Maiko girl reminded him of someone else…someone important…

As he walked closer to them, Maiko's eyes met his, and recognition flashed in her eyes. Had he met her somewhere before after all? He hoped she wasn't one of his many one-nighters. If what he had just heard from the couple's conversation was correct, she had yet to graduate, making her completely illegal.

His fears appeared to be unfounded when her eyes gained a quality that he had learned to recognize over the years – starstruck and pure fan adoration.

"Um, excuse me," she said as they drew within speaking range. "Are you by any chance Yuki Eiri-san?"

He raised an eyebrow. Yup, she was one of his fans, all right. Normally, he didn't bother with fans, finding them to be a complete annoyance unless he could sleep with them, but for some reason, he felt compelled to indulge one of them this once.

"Yes, I am."

Her eyes grew bigger and rounder at once. "Oh my God, it's really you! This is such an honor, Yuki-sensei. I'm a _huge_ fan of your books."

Yuki winced at the honorific. "Don't call me that," he said, a bit sharply. At her stunned expression, he quickly followed up with, "Just a normal Yuki-san would suffice." He didn't like being addressed as 'Sensei'. It brought back too many bad memories.

The girl flushed but she started digging through her bag for something – no doubt looking for something for him to autograph. Fan girls were so predictable.

"I'm sorry about her," the man, Hiro, said with a helpless sort of smile. "That's kind of the way she is."

"It's no bother," Yuki waved him off.

"Yuki-san, please, could you sign this for me?" she asked as she thrust out one of his books at him. Yuki noted it was one of his latest works – the nauseatingly sweet romance of a bitter man whose icy heart was thawed by a persistent and clumsy but eternally cheerful heroine. It was his best one yet, his editor had said.

Yuki smiled his patented 'charmer' smile as he took the book, and smirked when the girl nearly swooned. At least she didn't _really_ pass out from a nosebleed, unlike certain people –

Who _did_ he know who would pass out from a nosebleed? Wasn't that just a stereotype that happened in books like this one he was holding?

"What is your name?" he asked the girl politely.

"Maiko," she replied promptly. "Shindou Maiko."

_Shindou_. Again, something in his chest twinged at the name, but he paid it no mind. He had had enough of these déjà vu moments. Instead, he signed the book for her: '_To my new friend, Shindou Maiko. Thank you for taking the time to enjoy my book and good luck in your future love life.'_

He handed it back to the girl, who read the message and her expression turned confused. "Um…sorry, Yuki-san, but my name is _Maiko_, not _Shuichi_."

Yuki blinked. Had he really written Shuichi? How had that happened? Maiko and Shuichi were nothing alike. Where had the name Shuichi come from anyway?

But there it was, on the front page: '_To my new friend, Shindou Shuichi. Thank you for taking the time to enjoy my book and good luck in your future love life.'_

He stared at it. _Shindou Shuichi_. Those two words stirred up something deep inside him, something that was begging to be remembered but always being held out of his reach. Who was this Shindou Shuichi, his heart (he had one?) wanted to know.

Realizing that the couple was staring at his dazed expression, he quickly made up an excuse. "I'm sorry, Maiko-san. I've been out drinking, and my focus isn't very clear. Let me just correct that."

The necessary changes made, the girl thanked him profusely and showed it happily to her boyfriend, who looked rather used to her antics if that indulgent smile was anything to go by.

They went their separate ways, Yuki towards the nearest minimart, and the couple to wherever it was that couples went to do 'couple-y' things around here. He nearly started sniggering at the euphemism. It wasn't like him to put things so delicately, or use words like 'couple-y'. He must've been drunker than he'd thought. That Maiko girl was lucky he hadn't turned her name into something worse than just Shuichi. At least _that_ was a normal name.

He bought his cigarettes at the minimart – about five packets, enough to last him all week even if he smoked more than usual – and stepped outside. He opened his first packet and drew out his first cigarette of the day. Yuki was looking forward to his regular nicotine fix, and taking his mind off the oddness of the day. He was just going to smoke and forget how the silence of his home bugged him, how wrong it felt to be sleeping around, how familiar the couple he had just met seemed, and all those other bits of fleeting nostalgia that had been bothering him all day.

As he raised his favorite lighter to light the cigarette, however, his eyes caught sight of a small photo pasted to the side of it – one of those print-club pictures that acted like stickers by the look of it. Where had that come from? Tohma, that pervert, had better not have been messing around with his personal belongings…

Yuki's breath seized in his throat as he looked at the tiny image, barely bigger than his thumbnail. It was a picture of him, looking a little disgruntled as he was pulled into the picture – and though that was amazing in itself since he _never_ took pictures other than for his books – it wasn't his own image that caused his heart to seem to forget that it was supposed to be dead and race to life again.

It was the other person in the picture, the same person who was pulling on his photo-self's arm. A person with bright pink hair and large sparkling violet eyes, and a grin bright enough to rival the sun.

Yuki's knees felt weak as the alcohol seemed to disappear from his system and he _remembered at last._

"Shuichi…"

**I'm pretty sure Maiko isn't a singer or anything like that, but my aim in making her one was to make her take Shuichi's place, at least in Hiro's life, though obviously with different results to his life. **


	3. The Memories

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**A/N: I loved writing this chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it too. This fic is based on when I last watched this show three years ago, so if I make any mistakes or inconsistencies with canon, please forgive.**

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* * *

**

"…_zero talent." It was the truth. Those were the crappiest lyrics he'd ever read._

_Violet eyes flashing with anger. "What do you mean by that?"_

_The owner of those violet eyes flinging himself in front of his car. "I want you to read them again!"_

_The same violet eyes looking up at him in determination. "I'm moving in with you."_

_Soft, pouty lips. A lithe, slender body that responded eagerly to his every touch. "Yuki!"_

"_Yuki, you big meanie!" A big childish pout that just looked so adorable and tempting that he had to look away before he caved._

_A patter of running feet outside the apartment. The door slamming open. "La li ho! Yuuuukkkiiiiii! Tadaima~!"_

_A bright stage, with all lights trained on a single person. An amazing voice that sang a song that, though it was full of crappy lyrics, made people stop and listen anyway._

_A warm firm voice filled with resolution. An even warmer, firmer embrace. "I'll never leave you alone, Yuki."_

_Bright violet eyes that lit up at the smallest sign of praise from him, and a high that took an eternity to get down from later. An equally bright grin that lit up his apartment and warmed his heart and his home all at the same time._

_Days filled with laughter and sunlight, and nights of passion and the connection of two bodies at the most intimate level._

_Occasional fights and shouts. Nothing major. He always came back._

_A deep love expressed only by action, never in words. He wasn't ready to admit it yet._

_Frustration. Irritation. Loud laughter coming from the television that was also bothering him with its pulsing light. No more cigarettes. Need cigarettes._

_A bag that contained only some gum and nicotine patches. Annoyance. Anger. Couldn't he get anything done right?_

_His own voice, harsh and sharp. "Just fucking get the hell out of my sight! I don't know why I even keep you around! Just stop bothering me and __**disappear**__ already!"_

_Teary violet eyes, vulnerable as glass, but a voice that spoke calmly. Emotionlessly. "Is that what you really want?"_

_Momentary confusion. Returning rage. "Yes! I wish I'd never met you, you overbearing pink eyesore!"_

_Violet eyes losing their light, looking broken. The same dead voice. "I understand. I'll leave you alone now, Yuki-san. Sayonara."_

_Shock. He was no longer there._

"…_I'll leave you alone now, Yuki-san. Sayonara."_

_**Yuki-san.**_

_**Sayonara**__._

_No, this was not true. He would come back. He always came back._

_He had to come back._

Yuki's whole body was shaking by the time the last memories fitted themselves inside his spinning mind. His legs were already moving, running like never before to that spot when he had last seen a certain redheaded guitarist that he had all but forgotten until now.

This couldn't be real. It was not real, and he would confront Hiro to prove it. This was all some stupid joke that Shuichi had probably cooked up as revenge for kicking him out of the house again, and he had gotten his best friend and his own sister in on the act.

Yeah, that was right.

Yuki's mind remained focused on the idea that it was all a joke, ignoring the simple fact that, up until a few minutes ago, he had completely forgotten his lover had existed at all.

No, this was all a joke. Or a fucking nightmare.

But it felt so damned real.

A joke then. It had to be a joke.

And he was going to make Hiro admit that it was.

* * *

The brat's best friend was nowhere to be found in the park or within the vicinity. Yuki growled with frustration. He must've gone home already – after laughing his ass off at Yuki's stupidity, no doubt.

Now what was Yuki to do? He didn't know exactly where Hiro lived – Shuichi always came back on his own after he had stormed off there – nor did he have the guitarist's number. It had disappeared from his cell for some reason. The brat must've deleted it to complete his stupid joke.

Well, there was one person Yuki _could _call to prove it was all just a stupid prank.

Yuki stopped running and pulled out his cell, pressing a single button and then waited for the other end to pick up. He tapped his foot impatiently while the phone continued to ring. Come on, it wasn't that late yet. The person he was calling couldn't be asleep.

Finally –

"Hello? Eiri-san?"

"Tohma." Yuki's greeting was characteristically short.

"What a surprise. You almost never call me these days. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yeah. I want Hiroshi's address."

"Hiroshi?" Tohma actually sounded puzzled. Yuki had the fleeting thought that it was because he didn't normally hear the redhead being referred to as anything but 'Hiro' or 'Nakano', but his next words changed that.

"I suppose I could do some digging for you, Eiri-san, but you'll have to give me his full name."

Yuki was incensed. "You _know_ his full name! Nakano! Nakano Hiroshi!"

"I'm sorry, Eiri-san, but I don't know anyone by that name." Tohma's voice was mild and apologetic, and that just served to enrage Yuki even more.

"Don't fuck with me! Are you in on this with Shuichi too?" Yuki couldn't believe that Tohma of all people would do this to him. Tohma had never liked Shuichi. He was supposed to be on Yuki's side, no matter what!

"Who is Shuichi?"

"Shindou Shuichi! Lead singer of your top band, Bad Luck!" Yuki bellowed into his phone. He was tired of this game. He was tired and angry and…and he just wanted his brat back.

"I'm sorry, Eiri-san, but my top band isn't called Bad Luck, but ASK. And the lead singer is Aizawa Taki. I don't know any Shindou Shuichi. Are you sure you're feeling all right? Have you been drinking?"

Yuki felt as if he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "So what if I've been drinking? Where is Shuichi and Hiroshi, damn it!"

"Eiri-san, where are you?" Tohma sounded worried now. "I'm coming to pick you up, all right? Just stay where you are."

Yuki laughed hoarsely. Hysterically. "I'm not fucking telling you where I am. You're keeping Shuichi away from me, just like everyone else. It's not going to work, you hear me? I'll find Shuichi, and I'll get him back."

"Eiri-san, have you been eating your medication?" The way Tohma was speaking to him was like how a normal person would talk to a dangerous and spooked animal, cautious and slightly patronizing. "Do you need to talk to Minami-san?"

Yuki scoffed at the thought of his psychiatrist and laughed again. "No, I don't fucking need to see my shrink, Tohma, and you know I haven't needed my medication for a couple of months now."

"You're off your meds?"

"Of _course_, I'm off my meds! Haven't you been listening to a word I said? I don't need them anymore!"

"Of course not, Eiri-san." There! There was that patronizing tone again!

"Fuck you, Tohma! If you're not going to tell me, then I'm just going to have to find Shuichi myself!" Angrily, Yuki hung up his phone and started running again. He had to find Hiro. Or Shuichi. Whichever came first. Because everyone knew where there was one, there was usually the other.

He was so focused on what he was going to do when he found the idiot pair of best friends that he failed to notice the dark figure walking up the path towards him. After all, people had the right to be wandering the park at night, didn't they?

Yuki didn't think much of the stranger until that split-second moment when they passed each other and the figure whispered in a taunting voice, "Be careful what you wish for…"

The novelist froze in his tracks and turned around, but the stranger had disappeared. His imagination? Surely not…

Why was he thinking about such stupid things anyway? He had a brat and said brat's best friend to find…

"_Just stop bothering me and __**disappear**__ already! …I wish I'd never met you, you overbearing pink eyesore!"_

His own harsh words suddenly slammed back into his mind with such force that Yuki found it difficult to breathe.

No.

It couldn't be.

"_Be careful what you wish for…"_

"…Or it might just come true…" Yuki finished the saying, and then snarled. "Fuck that! Wishes don't come true like that! You'll see… Stupid wishes don't come true, damn it!" Yuki wasn't sure who he was railing against – the stranger, fate, or even himself for believing this could be real for even a microsecond.

Shuichi had to come back. He always came back. Maybe he was even at home right now, waiting for Yuki by the door as he always did, ready to glomp him and then apologize incessantly for playing this stupid, mean joke.

His course decided, Yuki raced home. His brat was there, waiting. He had to be. In his hand, he gripped the lighter that had that tiny picture pasted on its side. Whether he acknowledged it or not, that little image was all the proof he had in this world that Shuichi did exist.

He ran all the way to his apartment. Shuichi had to be home. He always came back.

Please, he had to be home.

But even as he unlocked the door and threw it open with a forceful bang, his heart sank to his knees and he found it difficult to breathe.

The apartment was dark and silent and more importantly, _empty_. No pink brat waiting on the couch, ready to glomp him as soon as he walked through the door. No ostentatiously loud rock music. No disastrous dinner attempts. No boxes of strawberry Pocky littering the floor.

No Shuichi.

"Oi, brat!" Yuki called as he stalked into the house. He had to be here. _He had to be_. He was just hiding somewhere. Or asleep, maybe. "Shuichi!"

Room to room he went, checking every corner, but there was no sign of his pink-haired idiot. Panic was rising in his chest. "Shuichi! Get out here right now! Shuichi!"

Still no over-energetic vocalist, and he had looked everywhere. There wasn't even any evidence that Shuichi had ever been here. Had ever existed in the first place.

Oh God, this was all his fault.

"_I wish I'd never met you, you overbearing pink eyesore!"_

Yuki collapsed to his knees, his words coming back to him again, as well as Shuichi's emotionless – _dead_ – goodbye.

"_Sayonara."_

Sobs were rising from his chest, and he couldn't keep it in. He only heard Shuichi's goodbye again and again.

"_Sayonara."_

God, it hurt worse than it ever had with Kitazawa. Because this time, he _knew_ that it was all his fault. He had been a bastard to the boy he loved more than his own life. There was no excuse.

"_Sayonara."_

"Shuichi…" he managed to squeeze out in between of the sobs that were just tearing themselves out of his throat and chest. "Please, come back. I – I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Please, come back. I need you…" He would've been disgusted at how pathetic he sounded on a normal day, but this wasn't normal. All he could think of was the pain in his heart, his _soul_, at the thought of never seeing Shuichi again.

And it was all his fault.

Because for once, his damned wish came true.

* * *

**A/N: I loved this chapter. It came out a lot quicker than I thought it would. Writing from Yuki's POV is surprisingly fun for me. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter too. Even if it is kinda short.**


	4. The Thief

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Never did.**

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter too.**

* * *

Morning found Yuki curled up on the couch. He had cried himself to sleep last night, something he hadn't done in years, and even while he slept, he had been restless. His dreams, nightmares, really, had been filled with his memory of the fight with Shuichi, and Yuki had had to suffer seeing Shuichi leave him, again and again, before disappearing into thin air like he had never existed.

Never existed.

Yuki had shot awake countless times because of it, and then he would look around the empty apartment frantically, hoping it was all some horrible dream.

But it wasn't.

The apartment remained empty. Quiet. Lifeless.

And the sobs would come again, and Yuki would curl back up on the couch – the couch he made his Shuichi sleep in so often – and cry himself back to sleep, his hands holding his lighter and the tiny picture to his chest like a vicegrip. It was all he had left of his brat.

Yuki awoke to sounds coming from the kitchen in the morning, and at once, his heart leapt. Shuichi was back!

The novelist was on his feet and striding towards the kitchen within seconds. He could already see how this was going to go…

"_Oi, brat, stop making a mess of my kitchen." Harsh words, but with an underlying fondness and affection._

"_Huh? Oh, Yuuukkkkiiii!" Huge glomp as the small, pink-haired brat attached himself to his person._

"_Argh, get off me, brat." Feigned annoyance._

"_I'm sorry for that stupid prank, Yuki. Please forgive me. Look, I'm even making breakfast to try to make it up to you." A glance at the frying pan would prove that his attempt at cooking was once again a horrible failure, and then those big purple eyes would grow large and teary. "I'm sorry, Yuki, I messed up. I'm sorry. Sorrysorrysorrysorry…"_

"_Just shut up, brat." A deep kiss to those soft lips before gazing directly into bright violet eyes. "I'm sorry too."_

Yes, it was cliché, and it sounded like a scene out of one of his romance novels, but Yuki couldn't care less. Shuichi was back!

The fond but caustic remark he had prepared died on his lips, and his heart tore in two again, when he saw who was really in the kitchen.

Yes, it was someone with Shuichi's height and stature, but instead of bright pink hair, it was pale blonde that greeted him instead.

Tohma.

Yuki felt his face arranging itself automatically into a scowl as bitter disappointment filled him. "What the hell are you doing here, Tohma?" he growled at the former keyboardist.

"Ah, Eiri-san, ohayo," Tohma said pleasantly as he turned away from the breakfast he was making. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"No, I bloody do not want some breakfast. I want to know what you're doing here."

"I was worried about you after that call last night, Eiri-san, so I came looking for you." Yuki hated the mild, patronizing way Tohma said that, as if he were a little boy, as if it were New York all over again. He absolutely _hated_ it.

"I'm fine."

Tohma didn't seem to have heard him, because he had turned back to the frying pan and was continuing to talk. "You were crying all night. I was really worried about you, but you didn't seem to notice I was there whenever you woke up. You kept crying for this Shuichi and how you were sorry. Now, I've scheduled a meeting for you with Minami-san…"

"Shut up!" Yuki roared. "I told you, I don't need to see my fucking shrink!"

"But, Eiri-san, this is a serious problem. You're talking about people who don't exist -"

"He exists! He exists, damn it! People just forgot about him! But he exists!"

"I'm sure he does, Eiri-san -"

"Stop that!" His brother-in-law sounded like an indulgent parent telling a child that, yes, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy all existed. "I know you don't believe me, but I know he exists! I've got proof!"

At last, interest flickered on Tohma's face. "Really?"

"Yes!" Yuki fumbled for his precious lighter and practically shoved the tiny picture in Tohma's face, though he didn't relinquish the lighter to the older man.

Tohma blinked a few times before he realized what he was seeing, and then a few more as he focused on the small pink blob next to Yuki in the picture. Yuki could practically see the memories flowing back into his brother-in-law as he studied the image.

"Shindou-kun…" Tohma whispered.

"See, you do remember him after all!" Yuki said triumphantly.

Tohma looked up at him, new/old memories swirling in his eyes as he frowned at Yuki. "How did this happen? Why didn't I remember?"

Yuki was silent, guilt welling up in him again. It was his fault. He knew it had to be his fault. If he hadn't made that stupid wish…if he hadn't said those things…

"We…we had a fight," he started slowly, his eyes focused on the lighter and the tiny picture.

Tohma just nodded, as if to say, 'So what else is new?' Yuki would've scowled if he could, but he knew that no one was exactly surprised nowadays when Shuichi arrived at work, depressed and whiny because he had fought with Yuki _again_. It was a far too common occurrence. Yuki had no right to be angry that Tohma wasn't even the least bit distressed by this news.

"It was a pretty normal one. At least, I think it was -" Yuki was frowning. What exactly _had_ been different between that fight and all the others that they'd had. "I was yelling at him, but he – he wasn't crying like he normally did. He just looked – blank. And then – then -" Yuki's throat threatened to close up at the memory of those harsh words.

"I told him I wanted him to disappear. He didn't even react. He only asked if I meant it. So I said – I said -" Tears welled up in his golden eyes, and Yuki looked away. He wasn't going to cry in front of Tohma. He was not that weak little boy who had needed Tohma for everything anymore.

"I told him I wished I'd never met him. And then he just left, just like that." Yuki tried hard to swallow past the lump in his throat. "I thought he would come back. He _always _comes back. But…I woke up in the morning and I _didn't remember him_. It wasn't until I saw the picture that it all came back. But it's as if he's not _here_ anymore. And it's all my fault. It's my fault for making that wish, and now it's come true, and – and – and I want him back!"

It was official. Yuki Eiri was crying despite his promise to himself not to. But it just hurt so badly. His chest, his heart, _everything_ felt like it had been torn in two and half of it had been stolen away, and he could never get it back because what he had lost was irreplaceable.

"Eiri-san," Tohma stepped closer to him, his arms held wide as if inviting Yuki into an embrace. Soon, the blonde novelist was sobbing against the older man's chest, his legs failing him again as he dropped to the floor.

"I want him back…I want him to be here, and whining and laughing and making those stupid puppy dog eyes whenever I won't listen to him… I want his loud music blasting out of my TV, and the Pocky littering all over the floor… I want my brat back…"

Tohma, for once, didn't seem to have any words of comfort for Yuki. How could he? He couldn't bring Shuichi back, and telling him it'd be all right was a damned lie because Shuichi was _gone_, and nothing would ever be right again.

Nothing.

Yuki Eiri, cold-hearted bastard, now found himself crying his eyes out at the thought of his lost love, whom he had driven away and cursed out of existence with his thoughtless words.

Be careful what you wish for indeed.

If he made a wish now to take it all back, would it happen? Would that come true?

No, it wouldn't, because he'd been wishing for it all night and it hadn't come true yet.

Shuichi wasn't coming back. He _couldn't_ come back, because he no longer existed except in his – and Tohma's – memories.

"Be careful what you wish for, it just might come true," a light voice quoted the famous saying from the doorway.

Yuki quickly dashed the tears away and turned furious, if a little disturbed that someone had come upon him at this particular moment, eyes upon this new intruder. He felt Tohma's arms tighten protectively around him.

There was a shadowy figure standing in the doorway. Or rather, leaning casually against the doorframe. Yuki could see no details besides a silhouette, and that was ambiguous at best. The figure was lean, slender, like Shuichi but taller, and had short hair.

"Who are you?" he growled at the intruder.

"Is that any way to speak to the one who just made your wish come true?" the figure spoke teasingly.

Golden eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"You wished for it, didn't you?" Yuki had the distinct feeling that the figure was smirking at him.

"_Just stop bothering me and __**disappear**__ already!_" The figure imitated his own voice with eerie accuracy, and Yuki flinched at the harsh words. "_I wish I'd never met you, you overbearing pink eyesore!_"

"So you see, Yuki-san, this was exactly what you wished for, isn't it?" The figure's voice was taunting.

His grief and sorrow forgotten in favor of his rage at this mysterious figure, Yuki snarled, "Who the hell are you and what did you do with Shuichi?"

Yuki had the feeling the smirk he had sensed earlier just grew wider. In a voice dripping with mock innocence, the figure said, "You didn't want him, Yuki-san. You said so yourself. So I took him. Shindou Shuichi no longer exists. He never did."

"You bastard…" Yuki growled as he struggled to stand, to get to whoever this stranger was and punch the daylights out of the self-satisfied ass. Tohma, however, held him fast with strength that Yuki would not have believed possible of a person as short as the former keyboardist.

"Eiri-san, wait," Tohma whispered before he turned his gaze on the figure. "Who are you, exactly?" His voice was cold and vaguely threatening. Yuki recognized it as the same tone Tohma usually used to make even seasoned and ruthless businessmen sweat bullets.

The figure, however, appeared to be entirely unfazed. Instead, Tohma's question was answered in an almost taunting voice. "Me? I might be a spirit whose soul can be saved from eternal damnation by fulfilling random wishes, or I could be a genie, finding mischief in causing chaos in the lives of mortals...what do you think?"

"Stop fucking around with me!" Yuki snarled. "Where is Shuichi? What did you do to him?"

"Weren't you listening, Yuki-san? He doesn't exist anymore. That's what you wanted, isn't it? You wished for it, after all. I would've thought you would be happy now that I've granted your wish."

"How can I be happy? Give him back, damn you!"

The figure actually seemed to consider that, but then, in true childish fashion with tongue sticking out and everything, said, "Nah. I don't think so."

Yuki broke free of Tohma and lunged for the figure. Incredibly, the dark shadow just seemed to drift to one side, dodging Yuki's attack entirely. The figure laughed merrily.

"Now, that wasn't very nice, Yuki-san," the figure said, as if reprimanding a child for stealing cookies before dinner. There was even a finger wagging teasingly in his direction.

Tohma leaped for the figure this time, but the figure seemed to be made of smoke as the man grasped nothing but thin air. Yuki tried to punch the shadow again, but the figure only drifted sideways or else the blows had about as much effect as hitting mist.

"What the hell are you?" Yuki snarled.

"I'd be an idiot to reveal all my secrets, Yuki-san," the figure laughed.

"What do you want?" Tohma frowned at the figure. "What do you want so that you will give Shindou-kun back?"

The figure stopped, striking a thoughtful pose with a tilted head and a single finger pressed to the chin. "Well, let's see…" Yuki could almost _see_ the predatory grin on the figure's face, despite the person being completely in shadow. It was odd how, despite moving around like that, the figure remained completely black…

"Play with me."

* * *

**That's it for now. What could my strange spirit/thief be up to, I wonder...**


	5. The Team

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. End of story.**

**A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! And thanks for the reviews!**

* * *

"Play with me."

"_What_?" The two men shouted incredulously.

"Do you think this is some kind of game?" Yuki growled.

The figure shrugged. "Whatever you think. I was bored. That's why I took him. If you entertain me, I'll give him back. It's as simple as that."

"I'm not playing some stupid fucking game with you," Yuki spat.

The figure shrugged again. "That's all right. I can just finish what I came here to do." A slender hand lifted to point at Yuki, or more accurately, the lighter in his front pocket. "I made a mistake when I was erasing Shuichi's existence. An oversight, if you will. I didn't realize you had a picture there. All it really takes is one to bring the memory back. I'm going to have to take it, and then take both your memories again."

The figure spoke lightly, as if it were no more than a minor inconvenience.

"You will do no such thing," Yuki hissed, holding the lighter protectively.

The figure laughed mockingly. "You don't have a choice, Yuki-san. I'd like to see you try and stop me."

Yuki took a threatening step forward, futile as he knew it was. He'd be damned if he gave up his last piece of Shuichi so easily.

Tohma raised an arm, as if to tell him to wait. The older man fixed his gaze on the figure, obviously thinking quickly. "If we were to - _play_ - with you, you'll give Shuichi back?" He put a distasteful emphasis on the word 'play', as if he didn't like the idea of playing some game either.

"Yes," the figure answered simply.

"Well, what do you want us to do?" Tohma ignored Yuki's frustrated growl. The novelist did _not_ want to be playing games. He wanted his idiot brat back.

The figure mused thoughtfully. "I don't know yet." Yuki growled even louder. "I'll think of something, though. In the meantime, feel free to get as many friends as you want to join in. The more the merrier." The figure seemed to be grinning again, this time in an irrepressibly childish way that was reminiscent of Ryuichi. "All you have to do is show them the picture to make them remember."

And then the figure's voice darkened again, becoming faintly malicious. "It doesn't matter to me, after all. If I win, I'll just steal everything again." Just like mist, the figure seemed to disappear, leaving behind an air of smug satisfaction.

Tohma turned to Yuki. "It looks as if we only have one choice. Who do you want to bring in on this, Eiri-san?"

* * *

In the end, Yuki allowed Tohma to make all the decisions regarding the people they wanted to help them get Shuichi back. The only person he really wanted to include was Hiro, because like it or not, he owed it to his brat's best friend to include him in something this important, even if Hiro didn't remember him at the moment.

Which is why Yuki found himself waiting outside Tokyo Medical University (A/N: I have no idea if such a place really exists), looking for a familiar red head. Tohma had done some digging and found that this was where Hiro was studying to be a doctor.

While the novelist waited, he wondered idly why a good student like Hiro, with academic achievements good enough to get into a medical university, would wind up playing the guitar for a living. It was a much more insecure job. Granted, given the success of Bad Luck, Hiro was earning much more than any doctor ever could, but surely he didn't bet _everything_ on music?

It all came down to Shuichi again. Somehow, the pink idiot had the ability to make people, even the most level-headed and sensible people, do crazy things. Yuki and Hiro were probably the best examples of that. Yet, God help him, he wouldn't have it any other way. Shuichi was troublesome, but he brought color to Yuki's otherwise dark world.

Damn it, he never regretted his careless words anymore than he did now. Yuki wanted so badly to take those words back – to wake up and find Shuichi in his arms, and that all this was nothing but a cruel dream – but it was impossible.

He'd always known that he'd miss the brat if he lost him. Ever since New York – no, ever since Shuichi had barged his way into the novelist's life, he knew he'd miss the boy if he were ever gone. Things were _too_ quiet without him around, so much so that it made Yuki uneasy.

But Yuki had never imagined he'd miss his little lover so much. The brat had ingrained himself so far into Yuki's life that all of his daily habits revolved around the boy. That breakfast for two he'd made was the best example. Even without remembering Shuichi, he still found himself cooking for two like he normally did.

Yuki missed Shuichi's noise most of all. He'd gotten so used to it that any kind of silence at all was unnerving. He'd gotten used to the general background noise of Shuichi wandering around the house or even bothering him while he worked. The absolute silence when Shuichi wasn't around was even worse than when the brat was annoying the hell out of him, bouncing around as if he were on a sugar high.

Silently, he resolved not to shout as much at Shuichi again – he wasn't so naïve to think he'd never argue with Shuichi. The brat, after all, inspired passion in him like no one else, even when that passion came out to be rather negative. Yuki also made a note to censor his words in future if – _when_ – they got Shuichi back. He was not going to risk losing his lover to misspoken words of anger again.

Yuki was on his third cigarette, newly bought by Tohma, when he finally saw the red hair that he had been looking for. He flicked the cigarette to the ground and stomped on it with his heel for a few seconds before he went over.

"Nakano-san?" he called politely. Being his usual bastard self would probably just annoy Hiro, and they'd never get anywhere. Shuichi had better appreciate this. He hadn't been this polite to anyone for years.

Hiro turned to face Yuki, an expression of mild puzzlement and curiosity on his face. Yuki took a moment to revel in the novelty of it. Hiro never looked at him like that before. All too often, when facing his lover's best friend, said best friend was glaring at him with animosity for making the pink-haired brat cry or something similar again.

"Ah…" Hiro seemed to flounder slightly as he tried to remember Yuki's name – it wasn't as if he was a fan of Yuki's, after all. Actually, Yuki reflected with an inward grimace, it would be downright creepy if that were the case.

"Er – Yuki-san, right? How did you know my name?"

"You'll know in a minute," Yuki muttered as he searched for the lighter. "I wanted to ask if you knew this person." And he shoved the lighter, and the tiny photo, into Hiro's face.

His reaction was eerily like Tohma's for some reason. First, there was the shock of something being shoved into the face all of a sudden, and then his eyes refocused on the small thumbnail-sized image, before finally zooming in on the pink blob that was Shuichi's hair.

Memories returned, Hiro looked up at Yuki with that familiar suspicious gaze that was just barely containing his hostility. Yuki smirked coldly. Here was the Hiro he knew and – well – _knew_.

Hiro glanced quickly around. "We need to go somewhere more private," he said firmly before walking off.

Yuki sighed. He was not looking forward to this.

Hiro led him to a spot behind the university that was quiet and isolated before he shoved his hands in his pocket and resumed glaring at Yuki with increased hostility. His first words got straight to the point.

"What the hell did you do?"

Yuki returned the glare, by habit if nothing else. He really didn't like the way Hiro automatically assumed it was his fault. After all, the brat was a magnet for trouble all on his own. Granted, if there was anything wrong with Shuichi these days, it was usually his fault, and this time was no different, but still –

Yuki steeled himself for a punch. Hiro was protective of his best friend. He'd known that from the start. "We had a fight," he started simply. Hiro just nodded. He was used to that happening. It was all part and parcel in the life of being best friend to someone who was in love with a bastard like Yuki Eiri.

"I – said some things I probably shouldn't have."

Hiro made a snorting noise. "When _don't_ you say something that you would have to apologize for later?" he muttered cynically.

The novelist ignored him. "I – I said that I wished he'd just disappear, and that I'd never met him."

His expression clearing ever so slightly, Hiro's eyes narrowed at his best friend's lover. "What does that have to do with this?" Obviously, he had his own suspicions, but he wanted to hear it from Yuki's own mouth.

Yuki closed his eyes. He knew this was going to hurt, but he did deserve it. "You know what they say, 'Be careful what you wish for, because it just might come true'. Guess what? It did."

Pow!

Yuki felt himself staggering backwards, reeling from the heavy blow Hiro had delivered to his jaw, and then he was being shoved against the cold concrete wall as strong hands curled into the thick material of his jacket and shirt.

"_Damn you_," Hiro hissed furiously, his eyes darkened with rage. "_Damn you_. What have you _done_? And why did you tell _me_? Needed someone to share the misery with?"

"No," Yuki said through gritted teeth. "I need your help."

"That's a surprise. The great Yuki Eiri actually needs _help_," Hiro sneered at him.

"I'm serious," Yuki snapped. "There – there's still a way to bring Shuichi back."

"Yeah? What are you going to do? _Wish_ him back into existence?"

"Would you just _listen_?" The blonde shoved the other man away from him with as much force as he could muster. "Shut up for a minute."

Man, did this guy _ever_ stop yelling? Maybe Yuki still hadn't fully remembered how riled up Hiro could get when it concerned his best friend. He was sure Hiro had never reacted like this before.

"Look. Shuichi did not just vanish. Someone took him. Some form of spirit, I don't know. That person heard my wish and, on some whim, decided to make it come true. I know that much because I've met with that person. Tohma, too."

Yuki related the rest of the encounter to the fuming Hiro. He seemed to be calming down, at least, though there was a trace of skepticism in his expression.

"So let me get this straight," the redhead said when Yuki had finished. "You made an accidental wish out of anger, and this random…shadow person heard it and decided to grant the wish by stealing Shuichi away and all evidence of his existence, from pictures to memories, completely erasing all traces of Shuichi?"

Yuki nodded.

"Yet somehow, said random shadow person does not realize you have a print club picture attached to your lighter, and when you saw it, all the memories came back. The random shadow person shows up to taunt you and says that he/she/it will only give Shuichi back if you – and I assume me as well, since you've so _kindly_ decided to make me remember – participate in some _game_ to entertain him/her/it."

"That's it."

"And if we don't, the random shadow person will come and steal the picture _and_ our memories anyway, because he/she/it is bored and wants to complete the wish."

"Could you stop with the he/she/it? It's annoying."

"You're the one with the lousy descriptions. Some writer you are." Hiro eyed the blonde novelist. "So you have some plan to get Shuichi back?"

"Not a very concrete one," Yuki shrugged. "Tohma's idea at the moment is to go along with what…_that person_…told us to do, as _that person_ seems to be almost a ghost or a spirit, and we have no way of even touch _that person_."

Yuki Eiri was too good a writer to be using 'random shadow person' and 'he/she/it' like this idiot. The fact that, just last night, he was still using the word 'couple-y' was firmly ignored. He had been rather tipsy, after all.

"So?" Yuki's voice was impatient. "Are you going to help or not?"

Hiro glared at him, obviously offended that Yuki even needed to ask. "Hell yes, I'm helping. If there's any way to bring my best friend back, I want in on it. Not to mention I still need to severely hurt you for starting all this trouble in the first place."

"Getting the brat back is more important," Yuki growled. He stood up abruptly. "Come on."

Hiro stared at him. "Where are we going?"

"To get reinforcements."

"From who?"

"Tohma is gathering whomever else he thinks will be good. I can only guess who he will choose. I only picked you because I knew you'd want in."

Hiro smirked. "Glad you know that much at least."

* * *

Yuki and Hiro entered Tohma's office to find that there were a couple of people inside already. Obviously, they were the people Tohma had picked for this…_quest_. Yuki sneered at the phrasing his own mind gave, but he really couldn't think of another term for it. Too much time writing his cheesy romance novels, no doubt.

Still, apart from that tall blonde American Yuki knew as Shuichi's manager, K, Yuki thought that Tohma had most definitely made some errors in judgment. There was no doubt that the crazy gun-toting American would be a good choice in kicking ass, and, ok, that slightly psychotic woman, Reiji, could be pretty intimidating when she wanted to be.

But, really, had there been any need to involve _Tatsuha_ and _Sakuma Ryuichi_ of all people? And of what use would Tohma's cousin, the last third of Bad Luck, be? Yuki hadn't even bothered remembering his name, but he could at least recognize the boy.

Currently, the assembled people were looking confusedly at one another. Well, Tatsuha was pretty much drooling at the sight of that overgrown man-child but he was another case entirely. It seemed that, without the memories of Shuichi, Tatsuha and Ryuichi had forgotten they'd been in a steady relationship for quite some time now, and Tatsuha had subsequently reverted to a fanboy mindset.

"Not bad, huh?" Tohma whispered to Yuki as he and Hiro came over. "I was lucky to be able to reach Reiji-san at all. She just so happened to be in Japan, scouting new talents."

"Tohma," Yuki hissed fiercely, "why did you involve _them_?" He pointed an accusing finger in the direction of the three people he was convinced would be of no help.

Tohma smiled. "They will be fine. Ryuichi-san does not look like it, but he is very capable when he wants to be. Suguru-san as well. He is not called my successor for nothing, you know, and they _are_ bandmates. I doubt Tatsuha-san will want to be left out, either. He likes Shuichi too. Besides, he _is_ a monk, if only in training, and who knows? Maybe his skills at exorcism will come in useful."

Yuki snorted. He didn't really believe in that religious mumbo-jumbo. If he had, he would've been his father's heir instead of Tatsuha. Tohma's smile didn't even falter. His eyes, however, narrowed at the bruise forming on the novelist's jaw. "What is that, Eiri-san? What happened?"

Yuki just brushed his brother-in-law off. "It was nothing I didn't expect or deserve."

"You really should have it looked at." Tohma shot a slight glare at Hiro. It really didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. Yuki thought it should've been a given considering how protective Hiro was of his best friend. Yuki hurt Shuichi. Therefore, Hiro needed to hurt Yuki on his friend's behalf. It was a fact of life.

Of course, the other fact of life was that Tohma hurt people who hurt Yuki.

Hiro just glared back, not in the least ashamed it seemed, and as he was currently no longer with NG, it seemed he wasn't at all intimidated either.

"Can we just get started?" Yuki cut in impatiently, before Tohma could say anything to admonish the guitarist.

The chairman of NG Productions turned back to the rest of the room. "Before I tell you why I've gathered all of you here, I'm going to show you all something that will hopefully make it easier for you to understand what is going on."

Tohma pressed a button on his computer, and a large projection screen unfurled itself from the wall. Another click turned on a projector, and then a blown-up image of that little print club picture appeared on screen. The details were horrible, but it was still noticeably Yuki and Shuichi. If you squinted hard enough, maybe.

The people gathered stared at the picture in confusion, however. Clearly, they didn't seem to be getting the same results with a copy of the original image, especially when it had been enlarged that way.

"Na, Tohma, what are we supposed to be seeing, no da?" Ryuichi asked. "Is it a game? Kuma-chan loves games, no da!" He hugged his pink bunny eagerly as he said it. "Kuma-chan thinks it's big pink sparkly goo, na, Kuma-chan?"

Yuki groaned. He _knew_ it had been a bad idea to call in that idiot.

"It looks like only the original will work," he said gruffly as he stood up. "It's my turn to show you all something."

* * *

**And thus the team is gathered...the next couple of chapters might take a while. I already know the game I want them to play, but _how _they play it and their strategies have yet to be planned out. So please be patient and review. Thanks**


	6. The Rules

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. **

* * *

It was pure and utter chaos within Tohma's office. Once they'd gotten their memories back, K and Reiji had gone into psychotic interrogation mode, shooting questions at everyone, literally and figuratively. Tatsuha and Ryuichi had lunged for each other with cries of "_Tat-chan!_" and "_Ryu-chan!_" and were currently cuddling each other and playing some sappy love competition that went something like, "I'll never forget you again", "I'll never _ever_ forget you again", "I'll never ever _ever_ forget you again" and so on and on.

It was so nauseatingly sappy that Yuki wanted to gag.

In fact, the only one who had reacted to the new memories in a sane way was Tohma's cousin, who had immediately went over to Hiro and was now talking to him in a low voice. Hiro appeared to be explaining everything to his bandmate.

"All right," Tohma called. "Settle down please, and I'll explain everything."

K nodded and kept his gun. Reiji let off a few more shots before she fell back onto a couch, her arms folded and her face in an expression of extreme annoyance.

"Fine," she huffed. "Who made us unable to remember Shu-chan?"

Tohma cleared his throat. "It seems that Eiri-san had another fight with Shindou-kun." At this, everyone glared at Yuki, who glared back stonily. _Everyone_ knew of the fights he always had with Shuichi, and as always, it was his fault. But damn it, he was not going to show his weakness in front of anyone. It was bad enough he'd cried in front of Tohma.

"During that fight, it seems that Eiri-san inadvertently said that he wished Shindou-kun would disappear and that they'd never met in the first place. Somehow, that wish appears to have been made true." Tohma continued on to tell them of the meeting with the mysterious figure and the suggestion that had been made in exchange for Shuichi's return to existence.

"So we've decided to play our mysterious friend's game, which is why we've gotten the rest of you to remember as well. We could use all your help in this."

"I'm definitely in," Hiro said at once. "I need to get my best friend back."

"Me too! Kuma-chan wants Shuichi back too, na no da!" Ryuichi added.

"What my baby said," Tatsuha said with a smirk. He hadn't relinquished his snuggle-grip on his Ryuichi just yet. "Besides, Shuichi is my friend as well."

"I want Shu-chan back too!" Reiji squealed.

"Finally, some action," K grinned as he readied his precious guns again.

That Suguru boy just sighed. "I suppose we have to get our precious lead singer back, don't we?" He was smiling ever so slightly. "Life just isn't the same without Shuichi-san around."

Tohma smiled at them all. "I see we're all agreed on this matter, then."

Yuki couldn't help but feel a little touched on Shuichi's behalf. His impossible brat had touched so many lives that, though he drove them all crazy most of the time, they still wanted him enough to get him back home.

"Ara? Has the team been decided already then?" That familiar light and teasing voice called and Yuki whirled around, glaring at a dark corner where, sure enough, the mysterious shadowy figure was lurking.

"How did you get in here?" Tohma frowned.

"My dear Tohma, surely you would've noticed by now that I don't play by your mortal rules," the figure taunted.

"Are you the bastard who took Shuichi?" Hiro growled.

"I don't know, what do you think?" The figure returned coyly.

"Stop screwing around!" Yuki snarled. "We're all here to play your bloody fucking games, so get on with it already!"

"Temper, temper, Yuki-san. I _could_ just decide to go away right now, you know."

Yuki growled, his hands clenching into shaking fists. If he didn't know that physical attacks were of no use at all, he'd be trying to beat the crap out of the figure again. But as it was, the figure appeared to be completely spirit-like, as intangible as a ghost.

"Who the hell are you, anyway?" K asked, stepping forward. "Aren't you even going to show your face?"

"Hmm…" the figure looked to be considering that. "For convenience's sake, I suppose so." With that, the figure stepped out of the permanent darkness that seemed to cling to the body. But what emerged looked to be vastly different from the figure's shadowy silhouette.

It was a little girl, no older than eight, with long, curly dark hair, and large deep brown eyes. She wore an irrepressible smirk of mischief on her face, but her eyes showed a calculating shrewdness beyond her supposed age.

"You can call me…Yume…yeah, Yume is good," the little girl said. Her voice had changed as well but there was an inflection in it, a teasing, taunting quality that was still unmistakably that shadowy figure's.

"Ah, kawaiii~!" Ryuichi exclaimed, sparkles shining in his eyes. "Ne, ne, Tat-chan, what a cute little girl!"

"You're a girl?" Suguru frowned at the harmless, almost innocent-looking girl.

The smile widened into an innocent grin. "Whatever makes you think I didn't choose this form simply because it's the most harmless thing I could think of? After all, who's going to hurt a sweet little girl?" She batted her eyelashes in a very convincing manner.

Yuki growled. He didn't care what form that shadow took. This was still the thief who took his Shuichi. He had absolutely no intention of showing her any mercy.

"Enough of this," he said. "What kind of game are you planning?"

Yume looked thoughtful, and then she smiled playfully at every one of them as she jumped, looking excited. "I want to play Capture the Flag!"

"Capture the Flag?" Everyone echoed, somewhat surprised by the choice of game.

"Yes, it's perfect, isn't it?" she was almost dancing in her excitement. "I will try to take that lighter from you, as well as all your memories. You can recover your memories anytime by looking at the picture, so unless I take the lighter, you will continue remembering. I win if I can make you all forget and steal the lighter."

"And what will we have to try and steal from you?" Tohma asked, eyes narrowing shrewdly.

Yume smiled and held up a hand. Floating above her palm was a small white orb that glowed with a soft pink color. "This is Shuichi's…soul, you might say."

Yuki's eyes widened and he lunged for the orb. Yume easily bounced out of his reach, giggling all the way. "Not so easy, Yuki-san. You're going to have to do better than that. Now, if you take this from me, I'll consider you to have won and I'll restore him."

She laughed merrily and closed her hand, causing the orb to disappear. "This is going to be so much fun, ne~?" She cast a guileless grin around the room's occupants.

Yuki hardly thought so, but he managed to bite it back. Ryuichi, however, looked just as excited as he bobbed his head up and down like one of those annoying bobble-head figures.

"What about territory?" K asked. "Where will your home base, and ours, be?"

The little girl pouted. "You're no fun, Oji-san," she complained, skipping over to him and pulling his long ponytail.

"_Oji-san_?" K objected, wincing as she pulled, but Yume wasn't listening. She had now attached herself to Ryuichi, clinging onto him like only a little girl was able to.

"Ryu-chan is _so_ much more fun, na, Ryu-chan?"

"No! Ryu-chan is mine!" Tatsuha exclaimed, trying to pry her hands from Ryuichi's arm.

The girl laughed again and relinquished Ryuichi, skipping off to the projector screen. She snapped her fingers once, and the entire thing transformed into a map of the area near Yuki's apartment, including the park nearby. She drew her index finger in a quick, horizontal movement, and a red line appeared through the exact middle of the map, which somehow coincidentally happened to be the border between the park and the town area.

"The town area will be your territory and the park will be mine. You have to start out at Yuki's apartment."

"That's such a large area! How are we going to search it all?" Hiro demanded.

"You'll have clues," Yume said airily.

"What kind of clues?" Suguru asked. Like his cousin, he had on a shrewd, calculating expression that made it easy to see that they were related.

"You'll understand when you see them." The little girl giggled mischievously. "I want to have a lot of fun with this, so it'll be a bit like an obstacle course too. Won't that be fun?"

Yuki did not think so but he held his tongue. She literally held Shuichi's existence in her hand, after all.

"That's not really 'Capture the Flag' anymore," Reiji pointed out.

"I know. It'll be like a quest!" A new light had entered her eyes as she started to skip excitedly around the room, splitting into several different people at once, from old men to more little girls.

"There are _more_ of you?" Yuki groaned.

The original Yume giggled. "These are replicates of myself. Since you guys obviously outnumber me, there will be copies of myself looking for you and even spying on you, and generally giving you all a hard time. You just won't know who, so…be careful. Don't worry, though, I won't turn into any of you, and only the ones that look like, well, _me_ will be able to steal your memories."

She skipped some more, and the copies disappeared.

"You get to bring your 'flag' with you, while mine will be in a fixed place. I don't want it to be too easy to steal all your memories if you split up. And I won't use my powers to find you, only my replicates. Games are supposed to be played fairly, ne?"

"Yeah!" Ryuichi nodded excitedly.

"You have the entire day to plan out whatever strategy you think will work. I'll be doing the same. The game starts at noon tomorrow. No one is allowed to leave home base until the game starts officially."

Yuki blinked. Somehow, the little…monster (brat was a nickname reserved solely for Shuichi) had come up to him without him even noticing. She was smiling at him very innocently, yet somehow very maliciously all at the same time.

"May the best…person win, Yuki-san…" Yume giggled and just like before with the shadow, seemed to dissipate completely into the air, leaving nothing but her silvery laughter echoing within the room.

* * *

**That's it for this chapter. I'm not very happy that it's so short, but we get to see the true(?) face of our shadowy thief at last. So read, enjoy and please review.**


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